Year 4 - Getting into our stride - 21st September 2018

Year 4 are definitely getting into their stride with their year 4-ness!  They are continuing to build positive relationships with their buddies and beginning to get into the routine of being responsible for various roles around the school.  We are building our independence in our learning and organisation gradually and thinking about how we can be good role models around the school, especially in the playground.  All this responsibility also comes with lots of fun learning experiences too, and I'm really pleased with how much the children are enjoying our drama lessons for our up and coming Shakespeare Challenge!
Be proud year 4, you have made an excellent start!

Year 4 - Home Learning - 21st September 2018

Home learning - Year 4 - Week 3

This week there is another choice!

Choice 1:

Today we had a very exciting delivery in school.  A police van arrived to deliver our new POW passports!  This is a document that allows children to record and celebrate their milestones as they progress through the school.  As year 4 will have successfully achieved many of these milestones I would like them to bring along some evidence so that their passports can be stamped by our Passport Officials.  The evidence could be a certificate, a photo or a piece of writing explaining their achievement (written by the child) signed by a parent.

We are looking for evidence of the following categories:

Evidence for baking a cake

Evidence for performing in public

Evidence for tying own shoelaces

Evidence for launching a rocket

Evidence of learning to play an instrument

We would also welcome pictures of your child when they were in different year groups through the school, these are to stick into the book, so please don’t send your best copies.

Choice 2:

We currently have five children who have written to Mr Spracklen to become passport officials and stamp children’s passports, but we are looking for more!  If you would like to become a passport control officer then please write to Mr Spracklen saying why you would like the role. Mr Spracklen is looking for some more boys to join the team especially.

(Congratulations to the 14 red hats who wrote to me last week - it is definitely worth the effort)

Choice 3:

We have a Science problem to solve!  We have been learning about static and current electricity so far this term and have been very successful in creating circuits and making light bulbs glow, however we have had less luck with static electricity.  We are beginning to think we have a school with anti-static carpets as we can’t seem to generate any (or very little). We have tried balloons and PVC tubes and rubbing various materials together but it just doesn’t work.  Does anybody know why? At home can you:

Do your own static electricity experiment and take a photo, video or write it up.

Can you research static electricity and find out what it is?

Or perhaps you could ask an expert, find out from family and friends about static electricity and how we can improve our experiments and come back with your answers next week.

NEVER EXPERIMENT WITH MAINS ELECTRICITY OR FLY A KITE IN A THUNDERSTORM (like Benjamin Franklin)

Have a fantastic weekend!

Year 4 - Home Learning - 14th September 2018

Home learning - Year 4 - Week 2

This week there is another choice!

Choice 1:

We have been excellent buddies since our return to school and many of you have shown yourselves to be kind, caring and considerate, especially at playtimes.  I need to choose some playtime wardens to help out with children who are on their own, upset or in need of a little responsible year 4 kindness to help them out.  

If you are interested in becoming a playtime warden I would like you to write a letter to me telling me why you would be good for the role.  It doesn’t need to be a long letter, but you must give me reason to choose you! I look forward to reading them and giving out the red hats!

Choice 2:

If you are not doing choice 1 I would like you to take time to think about your times tables!  Year 4 is a really important year for learning times tables and by the end of the year we are aiming to know them all.  We have been concentrating on counting in 6s and 7s in class this week. There are three stages to knowing your tables.

Step 1: Count in multiples eg: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12…

Step 2: Work out x table facts eg Given a fact such as 5x9 you can work it out from things you already know like counting in 5s or you might know another near fact such as 5x10.

Step 3: Learn the facts by heart, There are 66 facts to learn not including the 0 or 1 times tables and remember if you know 10x8 you also know 8x10!

I would like you to pick a times table that you need to practise, write down all of the facts in whatever way you find most useful.  Hide them, reorder them, draw pictures of them, put them on post it notes up the stairs, say them forwards, say them backwards. There is also Mathletics to use at home, this has some useful x table activities and youtube has some great times table songs.

Lastly, I will be thinking about parts for The Tempest over the next couple of weeks.  We may even have some auditions. To help me out please tick below which parts you think you would be good at playing and return them to me next week.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Name____________________________-

I would like to be considered for the following parts (tick as many as you would like):

Prospero

Miranda

Caliban

Ariel

King Alonso

Antonio (Boo!)

Sebastian (the King’s brother)

Gonzalo (The helpful one)

Trinculo (The Jester)

Stephano (A drunken Lord)

Ferdinand

A puppeteer

A musician

A technician

Costume technician

If any parents are a dab hand at costume design… please let me know!

Year 4 - Parents Information - 10th September 2018

There will be a parents information session held for the parents of the children in year 4 on Thursday 13th September at 9am in the school hall.  Please come along to hear about our plans for this term and ask any questions - I'll try my best to answer!
I look forward to seeing you there.

Year 4 - Swimming - 10th September 2018

There will be a letter regarding Swimming delivered through parent mail tomorrow (Tuesday 11th September).  Please read as pick up arrangements will be affected.  Swimming will be on the usual day for year 4, but at a different time.  A board with full information will be outside the classroom tomorrow and a letter should also be winging its way to you via email.  If you have any queries regarding these arrangements don't hesitate to see a member of the team.

Year 4 - A Super Start and Home Learning - 7th September 2018

We have a great first 3 days in year 4 and everyone is really rising to the challenges of new responsibilities and routines.  Many marvelous me points have been earned already, so if you haven't already signed up please do so as you will be able to view all of your child's achievements.  Also today I have given the children their first piece of year 4 home learning.  There is a choice of activities to have a go at:

Home learning - Year 4 - Week 1

Well, it already seems like we’ve been back forever!  Each week, on a Friday, I will be sending home a home learning activity to be completed by the following Friday.  As we have launched into our Shakespeare topic already, this piece of home learning has a Shakespeare theme.

Please complete one of the following activities:

Make a mask of William Shakespeare and recite famous quotes.  “To be or not to be…” is a good place to start!

Find out more about Tudor times and what it was like to live at the same time as Shakespeare.

Continue with spell writing for Prospero (The main character in the play we are studying).

Find out how many plays and poems William Shakespeare wrote.

Make your own magic potion from things in your garden (ask an adult first).  Label it to tell us what it does.

Draw your own picture of Prospero, Miranda, Ariel or Caliban and label it, telling us a little about their characters.

Design your own magic staff to be used by Prospero to create magic and mayhem!  (You could use an old stick).

Draw a picture of William Shakespeare and add some interesting facts about him.

You may do more than one if you wish, but only if you have time!

Also remember that you may have some spellings in your log books if you work with me for Read Write Inc Spelling (these will be written in the children’s Spelling Log books).  Please don’t worry if your child doesn’t have these as some groups are done within the lesson.

And lastly; read, read, read!  Children who read succeed. We will shortly be launching our accelerated reader scheme in school, in the meantime please read books, magazines, subtitles, websites, instructions, recipes, signs… the list is endless.

Year 4 - Let the Adventures begin! - 4th September 2018

We are ready and raring to go and hope you are too.  We can't wait to catch up tomorrow and start a whole new adventure in year 4. There is lots planned and you will all be pleased to know you will be meeting your new Reception buddies tomorrow!
We've got a whole new timetable, different groupings and a new playground too!
Watch the adventure unfold here on the year 4 blog...